Bad Luck and Trouble
Encyclopedia
Bad Luck and Trouble is the eleventh book in the Jack Reacher
series written by Lee Child
.
The title is derived from the song lyrics by singer Albert King
"Born Under a Bad Sign".
) sends him $1030.00, Reacher recognises an old army code, 10-30, meaning urgent help is needed. He meets up with Neagley in California and they discover the death of Calvin Franz, one of the nine members of Reacher's old army investigation unit. Neagley tells him to put the old unit back together.
After tracking down two other members, David O'Donnell and Karla Dixon, Neagley and Reacher find that three of the other five members are missing. The other one, Stan Lowery, had been killed in a car accident years earlier.
They come to the conclusion that Franz called the others for help with a major problem, and assume that Franz left the remaining four out because they all resided too far away to get to him quickly (apart from Reacher, who is famously untraceable). They discover that Franz's office has been trashed but decide that what the perpetrator was looking for was not found. Reacher and Neagley find Franz's flash memory stick and, with O'Donnell's help, crack the password, finding a set of bizarre numbers, which they conclude to be scores. After several more investigations, including locating the flash memory sticks of the other three members, they realise that Franz was unlikely to be the person who actually called for help. Reacher decides that any of the other three, Manuel Orozco, Jorge Sanchez and Tony Swan, could have been the one calling for help.
Reacher goes to Tony Swan's workplace, defence contractor New Age, in search of information, but is sent away with basically nothing by the HR manager, Margaret Berenson.
The investigations the four take on lead to a near assassination, and at frequent intervals as they begin to piece together the information they are told of the deaths of their colleagues. However, being told of the fourth death (Jorge Sanchez), they are told to meet Police Inspector Curtis Mauney (who has been skimming along the edges of the story until now) at the hospital, leading Reacher to conclude that Sanchez is not in fact dead, just severely injured. O'Donnell and Dixon go to the hospital and Reacher and Neagley go to find Margaret Berenson, after they realise that she has been lying to them.
They find that New Age has been producing state-of-the-art air missiles and pretending to destroy the prototypes, whilst sending them to a Syrian terrorist. Neagley and Reacher leave Berenson's house a whole lot wiser than when they came in. O'Donnell and Dixon, however, are captured by Curtis Mauney's men in the hospital
, and taken to New Age's Director, Allen Lamaison. Reacher and Neagley track him down, and kill Curtis Mauney (with a shot to the head).
Reacher stows away on the same helicopter as Lamaison and finds out that O'Donnell and Dixon are there too, tied up and about to be thrown off and killed the same way that Franz, Orozco, Sanchez and Swan were. Reacher confronts Lamaison just in time, kills his assistant and pushes Lamaison out of the helicopter once it is fully one mile above ground level. After the helicopter lands he kills the pilot
, too.
The only thing left is the Syrian who has supposedly already bought the weapons, but Reacher concludes that there is no way of him knowing how to use them. The team find one of New Age's staff members who they believe is due to be teaching the Syrian to use the weapons.
Reacher poses as the worker briefly as the Syrian arrives, then, with the help of Neagley, ties the Syrian up and leaves him for the police to find him. Later, they each agree to split up a large sum of money obtained from the bad guys, and Reacher receives a deposit for several hundred thousand dollars in his savings account.
Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher is a fictional character created by British author Jim Grant who writes under the pen name of Lee Child.-Biographical information:...
series written by Lee Child
Lee Child
Jim Grant , better known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British thriller writer. His wife Jane is a New Yorker, and they currently live in New York state. His first novel, Killing Floor, won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel....
.
The title is derived from the song lyrics by singer Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
"Born Under a Bad Sign".
Plot summary
When Frances Neagley (previously seen in Without FailWithout Fail
Without Fail is the sixth book in the Jack Reacher series written by Lee Child. It was published by Putnam in 2002.-Main characters:*Jack Reacher: hero, brother of Froelich's former boyfriend Joe....
) sends him $1030.00, Reacher recognises an old army code, 10-30, meaning urgent help is needed. He meets up with Neagley in California and they discover the death of Calvin Franz, one of the nine members of Reacher's old army investigation unit. Neagley tells him to put the old unit back together.
After tracking down two other members, David O'Donnell and Karla Dixon, Neagley and Reacher find that three of the other five members are missing. The other one, Stan Lowery, had been killed in a car accident years earlier.
They come to the conclusion that Franz called the others for help with a major problem, and assume that Franz left the remaining four out because they all resided too far away to get to him quickly (apart from Reacher, who is famously untraceable). They discover that Franz's office has been trashed but decide that what the perpetrator was looking for was not found. Reacher and Neagley find Franz's flash memory stick and, with O'Donnell's help, crack the password, finding a set of bizarre numbers, which they conclude to be scores. After several more investigations, including locating the flash memory sticks of the other three members, they realise that Franz was unlikely to be the person who actually called for help. Reacher decides that any of the other three, Manuel Orozco, Jorge Sanchez and Tony Swan, could have been the one calling for help.
Reacher goes to Tony Swan's workplace, defence contractor New Age, in search of information, but is sent away with basically nothing by the HR manager, Margaret Berenson.
The investigations the four take on lead to a near assassination, and at frequent intervals as they begin to piece together the information they are told of the deaths of their colleagues. However, being told of the fourth death (Jorge Sanchez), they are told to meet Police Inspector Curtis Mauney (who has been skimming along the edges of the story until now) at the hospital, leading Reacher to conclude that Sanchez is not in fact dead, just severely injured. O'Donnell and Dixon go to the hospital and Reacher and Neagley go to find Margaret Berenson, after they realise that she has been lying to them.
They find that New Age has been producing state-of-the-art air missiles and pretending to destroy the prototypes, whilst sending them to a Syrian terrorist. Neagley and Reacher leave Berenson's house a whole lot wiser than when they came in. O'Donnell and Dixon, however, are captured by Curtis Mauney's men in the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, and taken to New Age's Director, Allen Lamaison. Reacher and Neagley track him down, and kill Curtis Mauney (with a shot to the head).
Reacher stows away on the same helicopter as Lamaison and finds out that O'Donnell and Dixon are there too, tied up and about to be thrown off and killed the same way that Franz, Orozco, Sanchez and Swan were. Reacher confronts Lamaison just in time, kills his assistant and pushes Lamaison out of the helicopter once it is fully one mile above ground level. After the helicopter lands he kills the pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, too.
The only thing left is the Syrian who has supposedly already bought the weapons, but Reacher concludes that there is no way of him knowing how to use them. The team find one of New Age's staff members who they believe is due to be teaching the Syrian to use the weapons.
Reacher poses as the worker briefly as the Syrian arrives, then, with the help of Neagley, ties the Syrian up and leaves him for the police to find him. Later, they each agree to split up a large sum of money obtained from the bad guys, and Reacher receives a deposit for several hundred thousand dollars in his savings account.
Notable Characters
- Jack Reacher
- Frances Neagley
- Dave O'Donnell
- Karla Dixon
- Allen Lamaison
- Margaret Berenson (sometimes referred to as 'Dragon Lady')
- Curtis Mauney
- Azhari Mahmoud (The Syrian, also known as Adrian Mount, Alan Mason, Andrew MacBride, Anthony Matthews)